JP2008284763A - Printer and method for printing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a banding inconspicuous when printing is carried out by using a plurality of printing passes. <P>SOLUTION: This printer is adapted to perform the printing on respective positions of a medium 30 by a plurality of printing paths 50. The printer comprises: a conveyance section for repeating conveyance of the medium by a predetermined conveyance amount in a predetermined conveyance direction; a print head for performing the printing on a printing region set on the medium 30 every time when the conveyance section carries out the conveying in the conveyance mount; and a printing path setting section for setting the printing region including the printing path 50 by setting the printing path 50 so as to extend the boundary 52 of the printing pass 50 in the diagonal direction with respect to the width direction of the medium 30 perpendicular to the conveyance direction in the printing face of the medium 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing method (multi-pass recording) for printing using a plurality of printing passes is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In this printing method, for example, a print head that performs printing on a print area including a plurality of print passes, a transport operation for transporting a medium having a bandwidth equal to the width of the print pass, and the print head with the width of the medium. The printing operation for performing printing while scanning in the direction is repeated.
JP 2003-145731 A JP 2006-110750 A

  In the printing apparatus, an error may occur in the transport amount of the medium, the scan width of the print head, and the like. When such an error occurs, when printing is performed using a plurality of printing passes, an overlap or a gap is generated at the boundary portion of the printing pass, and banding in which the area printed in each printing pass appears as a band shape occurs. May end up. However, if banding becomes conspicuous, the required print quality may not be obtained. Therefore, conventionally, it has been desired to make banding inconspicuous when printing is performed using a plurality of printing passes.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing method that can solve the above-described problems.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration.
(Configuration 1) A printing apparatus that performs printing with respect to each position on a medium by a plurality of printing passes, and a conveyance unit that repeatedly conveys a medium having a preset conveyance amount in a preset conveyance direction; Each time the transport unit transports the transport amount, a print head that performs printing in a print area set on the medium, and a print path with respect to the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the transport direction on the printing surface of the medium A printing path setting unit that sets a printing area including the printing path by setting the printing path so that the boundary of the printing line extends in an oblique direction.

  When printing with multiple print passes, for example, if an error occurs in the transport amount of the medium, the print pass position in the transport direction may be shifted, and gaps or overlaps may occur between adjacent print passes. There is. In this case, if the boundary of the printing path extends linearly in the width direction of the medium, the gap between the printing paths extending along the boundary and the width of the overlap directly reflect errors such as the transport amount of the medium. The Rukoto.

  In contrast, when the boundary of the print path extends in an oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium, even if an error occurs in the transport amount of the medium, the direction of the error and the gap between the print paths or the width of the overlap Does not match the direction. For this reason, the error is not reflected as it is with respect to the gap or overlap width between the print passes.

  For example, if the angle formed by the direction in which the boundary of the print path extends and the width direction of the medium is θ, the gap or overlap width between the print paths is, for example, a width obtained by multiplying an error such as the conveyance amount of the medium by cos θ. It becomes. Therefore, with this configuration, even when an error occurs in the transport amount of the medium, the gap between print passes and the overlap width can be reduced. This also makes banding inconspicuous when, for example, printing is performed using a plurality of printing passes.

  Note that the boundary of the print pass may be, for example, a curved line or a polygonal line. When the boundary of the printing path is curved, the boundary extends in the oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium, for example, the tangent line of the boundary extends in the oblique direction. Further, when the boundary of the print path is a polygonal line, the boundary extending in the oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium means, for example, that a straight line or a curve along the broken line extends in the oblique direction.

  (Configuration 2) The print path setting unit sets the print path so that the boundary of the print path extends in a wave shape in the width direction of the medium while oscillating before and after in the transport direction. The boundary of the print path may be, for example, a triangular wave shape, a sawtooth wave shape, a sine wave shape, or the like.

  With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately set the print path so that the boundary extends in an oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium while suppressing the width of the print path in the transport direction. This can also prevent, for example, an excessive increase in the transport direction length of a print head that performs printing on a print area including a plurality of print passes. Furthermore, if configured in this manner, the boundary of the print path can be made visually inconspicuous. This also makes banding inconspicuous.

  (Configuration 3) The print head performs printing in the print area while scanning in the width direction of the medium. When the print head scans in the width direction of the medium, if there is an error in printing accuracy or the like in a partial area of the print head, the influence spreads in the width direction of the medium by scanning the print head. For example, when the print head is an ink jet head of an ink jet printer, if there is an error in the ink droplet ejection direction for any of the nozzles, the influence of the error will occur across the width direction of the medium.

  Therefore, if the print path is set so that the boundary extends linearly in the width direction of the medium, for example, when the nozzle that has an error in the ejection direction and the boundary of the print path overlap, the entire boundary of the print path The effect of this error will occur over the entire period. For this reason, banding may be conspicuous when the printing pass is set so that the boundary extends linearly in the width direction of the medium.

  On the other hand, in the case of the configuration 3, since the boundary of the print path extends in an oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium, for example, even if there is an error in print accuracy in a partial area of the print head, The entire boundary of the print path is not drawn in the partial area. For example, when the print head is an ink jet head, the nozzles that draw the boundary of the print path differ depending on the position in the width direction of the medium. Therefore, with the configuration 3, for example, even if there is an error in printing accuracy in a partial area of the print head, it is possible to prevent the influence of this error or the like from occurring over the entire boundary of the print path. Can do. This also makes it possible to make the banding inconspicuous properly.

  (Configuration 4) The printing apparatus is an ink jet printer, the print head is an ink jet head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in the transport direction, the print area includes a plurality of print passes, and the print path setting unit is a print area. As the nozzles that should eject ink droplets to the respective printing paths, a partial range of nozzles in a plurality of nozzle arrays is selected, and the selected nozzle range is the print in the width direction of the medium. By sequentially shifting in the transport direction according to the position of the head, the print path is set so that the boundary of the print path extends in an oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium.

  If comprised in this way, the position of the boundary of a printing path can be changed appropriately according to the position of a printing head, scanning a printing head. For this reason, the print path can be appropriately set so that the boundary of the print path extends in an oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium.

  (Configuration 5) A printing apparatus that performs printing with respect to each position on a medium through a plurality of printing passes, and a conveyance unit that repeatedly conveys a medium of a preset conveyance amount in a preset conveyance direction; A print head that prints in a print area set on the medium each time the transport unit transports the transport amount, and a medium that is orthogonal to the transport direction on the printing surface of the medium while oscillating before and after the transport direction And a print path setting unit that sets a print area including the print path by setting the print path so that the boundary of the print path extends in a wavy shape in the width direction. The boundary of the print path may be, for example, a triangular wave shape, a sawtooth wave shape, a sine wave shape, a rectangular wave shape, or the like.

  With this configuration, the boundary of the print path can be made visually inconspicuous. This also makes banding inconspicuous.

  In this configuration, the print head prints in the print area while scanning in the width direction of the medium, for example. In this case, for example, if there is an error in printing accuracy in a partial area of the print head, the influence spreads in the width direction of the medium by scanning the print head. For this reason, for example, the influence of this error or the like occurs over the entire boundary of the print path, and banding may become conspicuous. On the other hand, if the configuration 5 is used, it is possible to prevent the influence of this error or the like from occurring over the entire boundary of the print path by making the boundary of the print path wavy. Therefore, if constituted in this way, banding can be made inconspicuous appropriately.

  (Configuration 6) A printing method in which printing is performed with respect to each position on a medium by a plurality of printing passes, and the conveyance of a medium having a preset conveyance amount in a predetermined conveyance direction is repeatedly performed, and the conveyance Each time an amount is transported, the print path is set on the medium by setting the print path so that the boundary of the print path extends obliquely with respect to the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the transport direction on the printing surface of the medium. A print area including a pass is set, and printing is performed in the set print area. In this way, the same effect as in Configuration 1 can be obtained.

  (Configuration 7) A printing method in which printing is performed with respect to each position on a medium by a plurality of printing passes, and the conveyance of a medium having a preset conveyance amount in a predetermined conveyance direction is repeatedly performed, and the conveyance By setting the printing path so that the boundary of the printing path extends in a wavy manner in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the conveying direction on the printing surface of the medium while amplifying before and after the conveying direction each time the amount is conveyed Then, a print area including the print path is set on the medium, and printing is performed on the set print area. In this way, the same effect as in configuration 5 can be obtained.

  According to the present invention, for example, banding can be made inconspicuous when printing is performed using a plurality of printing passes.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a printing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing apparatus 10 is an inkjet printer that performs printing by a multi-pass method, and performs printing by a plurality of printing passes for each position on a medium 30 such as paper or film. In this example, the printing apparatus 10 includes a transport unit 102, a print path setting unit 104, and a print head 106.

  The conveyance unit 102 includes a plurality of driving rollers 202 and 206, a plurality of driven rollers 204 and 208, a table 212, and a conveyance control unit 210. The driving roller 202 and the driven roller 204 are provided upstream of the print head 106 in the transport direction. The driving roller 206 and the driven roller 208 are provided downstream of the print head 106 in the transport direction. Further, the drive rollers 202 and 206 rotate according to instructions from the conveyance control unit 210. The driven rollers 204 and 208 sandwich the medium 30 between the driving rollers 202 and 206 and rotate according to the rotation of the driving rollers 202 and 204. Accordingly, the driving rollers 202 and 206 and the driven rollers 204 and 208 convey the medium 30 in a predetermined conveyance direction in accordance with an instruction from the conveyance control unit 210. The table 212 is provided at a position facing the print head 106 with the medium 30 interposed therebetween, and fixes the medium 30 conveyed to the position of the print head 106 by, for example, suction.

  The conveyance control unit 210 controls the conveyance of the medium 30 by controlling a motor that rotates the driving rollers 202 and 206, for example. In this example, the conveyance control unit 210 rotates the driving rollers 202 and 206 so that the conveyance amount per one time becomes a band width that is the width of the printing pass in the conveyance direction. Further, the conveyance control unit 210 causes the driving rollers 202 and 206 to repeat rotation and stop corresponding to the conveyance for the bandwidth. As a result, the transport unit 102 repeatedly transports the medium 30 corresponding to the bandwidth in the transport direction.

  The print path setting unit 104 sets a print area on the medium 30 to set a print area to be printed in a print operation performed each time the medium 30 corresponding to the bandwidth is conveyed. In this example, the print pass setting unit 104 sets a print area including a plurality of print passes that are simultaneously printed in one printing operation each time the transport unit 102 transports the medium 30 corresponding to the bandwidth.

  The print head 106 is, for example, an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in the transport direction. The print head 106 is set on the medium 30 while linearly scanning in the width direction of the medium 30 perpendicular to the conveyance direction on the printing surface of the medium 30 every time the conveyance unit 102 conveys the bandwidth. Print on the printed area. With the above configuration, according to this example, it is possible to appropriately perform printing in the multi-pass method.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the print path 50 set by the print path setting unit 104. In this example, the print path setting unit 104 sets a wavy print path 50 that swings back and forth in the transport direction. At each position in the width direction of the medium 30, the width of the print pass 50 in the transport direction is equal to the band width L. Further, the boundary 52 of the print path 50 extends in a wave shape in the width direction of the medium 30 while oscillating before and after in the transport direction. Therefore, at each position in the width direction of the medium 30, the boundary 52 extends in an oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium 30.

  Here, when the printing path is wave-like in this way, the boundary of the printing path becomes visually inconspicuous. Further, when the boundary of the print path 50 extends obliquely with respect to the width direction of the medium 30, the error direction and the direction in which the boundary 52 extends are orthogonal even if an error or the like occurs in the transport amount of the medium 30. do not do. In this case, even if a gap or overlap occurs between the print passes 50 due to an error or the like, the error direction does not match the gap or overlap width direction, and the error or the like is reflected as it is in the gap or overlap width. It will not be. Therefore, the gap and the width of the overlap are smaller than the error in the transport direction. Therefore, according to this example, when printing is performed using a plurality of printing passes 50, for example, banding can be made inconspicuous.

  Note that the print head 106 performs printing on a print region including a plurality of print paths 50, for example, about 4 to 16 by a single printing operation. The print path setting unit 104 associates each of the plurality of nozzles in the print head 106 with one of the print paths 50 included in the print area according to the position of each nozzle. In addition, the print path setting unit 104 changes this association according to the position of the print head 106 in the width direction of the medium 30 so that the print path 50 has a wave shape. If comprised in this way, the wavy printing path 50 can be set appropriately.

  In this example, the print path setting unit 104 sets a print path 50 having a polygonal boundary 52. If comprised in this way, the frequency which changes matching with a nozzle and the printing pass 50 can be reduced, for example. In addition, for example, the print head 106 can be scanned at a higher speed. The print path setting unit 104 may set a print path 50 having a linear or curved boundary 52.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining printing in the multi-pass method. FIG. 3A shows an example of the configuration of the print head 106. In this example, the print head 106 includes a plurality of nozzles 302 arranged at a constant density in the transport direction. The print head 106 performs printing on the medium 30 by ejecting ink droplets from these nozzles 302 while moving in the width direction of the medium 30.

  In this example, the nozzle density d in which the nozzles 302 are arranged is smaller than the printing resolution. Therefore, a desired print resolution can be obtained by printing the same portion on the medium 30 a plurality of times by a plurality of print passes. The print head 106 performs printing a plurality of times at the same location by repeating printing every time the medium 30 corresponding to the bandwidth is conveyed.

  FIG. 3B shows an example of a method of performing printing a plurality of times at each position on the medium 30. In this example, the print path setting unit 104 (see FIG. 1) sets path positions 404a to 404e that are positions of a plurality of print paths 50 (see FIG. 2) on the medium 30 prior to the start of printing. The width of each pass position 404a to 404e in the transport direction is equal to the bandwidth. In this example, the printing pass 50 has a wave shape that swings back and forth in the transport direction, as described with reference to FIG. Therefore, the print path setting unit 104 sets the wavy path positions 404a to 404e according to the print path 50. However, in FIG. 3B, the path positions 404a to 404e are shown in a rectangular shape for the sake of simplicity.

  In this example, the print head 106 prints each position on the medium 30 by four print passes. Therefore, the print head 106 is divided into at least four ink ejection regions 402a to 402d in the transport direction. The width of each ink ejection region 402a-d in the transport direction is equal to the bandwidth. Accordingly, each time the print head 106 scans in the width direction of the medium 30, each of the ink ejection regions 402 a to d performs printing for one printing pass 50 minutes.

  In this example, the print path setting unit 104 changes the boundaries of the ink ejection regions 402 a to 402 d according to the position of the print head 106 in the width direction of the medium 30. As a result, the print head 106 performs printing in accordance with the wavy print path 50.

  Hereinafter, the printing operation will be described in more detail while showing the positional relationship between the print head 106 and the medium 30. When printing is performed on the pass positions 404a to 404e, the print path setting unit 104 first corresponds to the pass position 404a when the positions of the pass position 404a and the ink ejection region 402a first overlap in the transport direction. A print area including the print path 50 to be printed and the other three print paths 50 is set. Then, the print head 106 scans in the width direction of the medium 30 (drawing 1). By this scanning, the ink ejection region 402a ejects ink droplets to the pass position 404a and performs printing to the pass position 404a.

  Subsequently, the transport unit 102 transports the medium 30 for the bandwidth. Thereby, the positions of the pass positions 404a and 404b in the transport direction overlap with the ink discharge areas 402b and a, respectively. At this point, the print path setting unit 104 sets a print area including the print path 50 corresponding to the pass positions 404a and 404b and the other two print paths 50, for example. Then, the print head 106 scans in the width direction of the medium 30 (drawing 2). By this scanning, each of the ink ejection areas 402a and 402b ejects ink droplets to the pass positions 404b and a, respectively, and performs printing on the pass positions 404b and a.

  Subsequently, the transport unit 102 further transports the medium 30 for the bandwidth. Accordingly, the positions of the pass positions 404a to 404c in the transport direction overlap with the ink discharge areas 402c to 402a, respectively. At this point, the print path setting unit 104 sets, for example, a print area including the print path 50 corresponding to the pass positions 404a to 404c and the other one print path 50. Then, the print head 106 scans in the width direction of the medium 30 (drawing 3). By this scanning, each of the ink ejection regions 402a to 402c ejects ink droplets to the pass positions 404c to 404a, and performs printing on the pass positions 404c to 404a.

  Subsequently, the transport unit 102 further transports the medium 30 for the bandwidth. As a result, the positions of the pass positions 404a to 404d in the transport direction overlap with the ink discharge areas 402d to 402a, respectively. At this point, the print path setting unit 104 sets a print area including the print path 50 corresponding to the pass positions 404a to 404d, for example. Then, the print head 106 scans in the width direction of the medium 30 (drawing 4). By this scanning, each of the ink ejection regions 402a to 402d ejects ink droplets to the pass positions 404d to 404a, and performs printing on the pass positions 404d to 404a.

  At this point, printing of all four print passes to the pass position 404a is completed. Thereafter, by repeating the same operation as described above, printing for the remaining print passes is sequentially performed on the other pass positions 404b to 404e.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of correspondence between the nozzles 302 of the print head 106 and the print path 50. FIG. 4A shows the arrangement of the nozzles 302 divided into the ink ejection regions 402a to 402d. In this example, the print pass setting unit 104 distributes the nozzles 302 arranged in the transport direction into a dummy nozzle area 406a, ink ejection areas 402a to 402d, and a dummy nozzle area 406b. Each of the ink ejection regions 402a to 402d includes the same number of nozzles 302. Then, the print pass setting unit 104 associates the nozzles 302 included in each of the ink ejection regions 402a to 402d with the four print passes 50 that are simultaneously printed. As a result, the print path setting unit 104 sets the nozzles 302 included in the respective ranges of the ink discharge areas 402a to 402d as the nozzles 302 that should eject ink droplets to the four print paths 50 included in the print area. select. The print pass setting unit 104 sets the nozzles 302 included in the dummy nozzle regions 406a and 406b as dummy nozzles that do not eject ink droplets.

  Then, the print pass setting unit 104 determines the boundaries of the me nozzle region 406a, the ink ejection regions 402a to 402d, and the dummy nozzle region 406b according to the position of the scanning print head 106 (see FIG. 1) in the width direction of the medium 30. By changing, the nozzle 302 associated with each print pass 50 is changed. For example, the print pass setting unit 104 sequentially shifts the positions of the ink ejection regions 402a to 402d in the transport direction every time the print head 106 moves by a certain amount. As a result, the print pass setting unit 104 sequentially changes the range of the nozzles 302 selected corresponding to each print pass 50 in accordance with the position of the print head 106 in the width direction of the medium 30.

  The print pass setting unit 104 changes the ranges of the dummy nozzle regions 406a and 406b in accordance with the change of the positions of the ink discharge regions 402a to 402d. In this way, it is possible to shift the positions of the ink ejection regions 402a to 402d while maintaining the respective sizes. In FIG. 4, the number of nozzles 302 is shown in a simplified manner. Each ink ejection region 402a-d and dummy nozzle region 406a, b includes, for example, more nozzles 302 than shown.

  FIG. 4B shows an example of a change in the boundary 52 of the print pass 50 in accordance with a change in the position of each of the ink ejection regions 402a to 402d. When the positions of the respective ink ejection regions 402a to 402d are shifted in the transport direction, the boundary 52 of the print pass 50 is also shifted stepwise in the transport direction accordingly. Therefore, according to this example, the position of the boundary 52 of the print path 50 can be changed according to the position of the print head 106 while scanning the print head 106.

  In addition, the print path setting unit 104 sequentially shifts the boundary 52 of the print path 50 stepwise by sequentially shifting the positions of the respective ink ejection regions 402a to 402d in the transport direction. Therefore, the boundary 52 extends in a polygonal line in an oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium 30. Accordingly, the print path setting unit 104 sets the print path 50 so that the boundary 52 of the print path 50 extends in an oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium 30.

  For example, the print path setting unit 104 reverses the direction in which the positions of the respective ink ejection regions 402a to 402d are shifted every time the boundary 52 is shifted in a stepped manner a certain number of times. In this way, the boundary 52 of the print path 50 can be made into a wave shape that swings back and forth in the transport direction. Therefore, according to this example, it is possible to appropriately set the wavy print path 50 as described with reference to FIG.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. It is apparent from the description of the scope of claims that embodiments with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The present invention can be suitably used for, for example, a printing apparatus.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a printing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print path 50 set by a print path setting unit 104. FIG. It is a figure explaining printing by a multipass method. FIG. 3A shows an example of the configuration of the print head 106. FIG. 3B shows an example of a method of performing printing a plurality of times at each position on the medium 30. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of correspondence between nozzles 302 of the print head 106 and a print path 50. FIG. FIG. 4A shows the arrangement of the nozzles 302 divided into the ink ejection regions 402a to 402d. FIG. 4B shows an example of a change in the boundary 52 of the print pass 50 in accordance with a change in the position of each of the ink ejection regions 402a to 402d.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printing apparatus, 30 ... Medium, 50 ... Print pass, 52 ... Boundary, 102 ... Conveyance part, 104 ... Print pass setting part, 106 ... Print head, 202 ... Driving roller, 204 ... Follower roller, 206 ... Drive roller, 208 ... Follower roller, 210 ... Transport control unit, 212 ... Table, 302 ... Nozzle, 402 ... Ink ejection area 404 ... pass position 406 ... dummy nozzle area

Claims (7)

A printing apparatus that performs printing by a plurality of printing passes for each position on a medium,
A transport unit that repeatedly transports a medium of a preset transport amount in a preset transport direction;
Each time the transport unit transports the transport amount, a print head that performs printing in a print area set on the medium;
The print area including the print pass by setting the print pass so that a boundary of the print pass extends in an oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium orthogonal to the transport direction on the printing surface of the medium. And a printing path setting unit for setting the printing path.   The print path setting unit sets the print path so that a boundary of the print path extends in a wave shape in the width direction of the medium while oscillating before and after the transport direction. Printing device.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print head performs printing in the print area while scanning in the width direction of the medium. The printing apparatus is an inkjet printer;
The print head is an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in the transport direction,
The print area includes a plurality of the print passes,
The print path setting unit selects the nozzles in a partial range in the arrangement of the plurality of nozzles as the nozzles that should eject ink droplets to the print paths included in the print area; and By sequentially shifting the selected nozzle range in the transport direction according to the position of the print head in the width direction of the medium, the boundary of the print path extends in an oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the printing pass is set. A printing apparatus that performs printing by a plurality of printing passes for each position on a medium,
A transport unit that repeatedly transports a medium of a preset transport amount in a preset transport direction;
Each time the transport unit transports the transport amount, a print head that performs printing in a print area set on the medium;
By setting the print path so that the boundary of the print path extends in a wavy manner in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the transport direction on the printing surface of the medium while swinging back and forth in the transport direction, A printing apparatus comprising: a printing path setting unit that sets the printing area including a printing path. A printing method for performing printing by a plurality of printing passes for each position on a medium,
Repeated transport of a medium with a preset transport amount in a preset transport direction,
Each time the transport amount is transported,
By setting the print path so that the boundary of the print path extends in an oblique direction with respect to the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the transport direction on the printing surface of the medium, the print path is formed on the medium. Set the print area including
A printing method, wherein printing is performed in the set print area. A printing method for performing printing by a plurality of printing passes for each position on a medium,
Repeated transport of a medium with a preset transport amount in a preset transport direction,
Each time the transport amount is transported,
By setting the printing path so that the boundary of the printing path extends in a wave shape in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the conveyance direction on the printing surface of the medium while swinging back and forth in the conveyance direction, Set the print area including the print path on the medium,
A printing method, wherein printing is performed in the set print area.

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